We own a home outright and don’t owe anyone a dime. We didn’t pay the note off early, we actually received the house totally debt free.
We moved into a beautiful, ridiculously spacious bungalow in a Chicago south side community in 2010. But the journey to a debt free home started much earlier.
When I tell the story, I get mixed reactions. Some people believe, some don’t. Some people want a formulaic, step by step playbook on how they can also get a home with no mortgage and no debt. I can’t point people to a book or a government program. I can only do so much as navigate them to this original iva site in case they’re debt-ridden. Honestly, our breakthrough came through prayer and reading about money principles in the Bible. The process started with changing our thoughts about money and debt and ended with us receiving a home without a note.
Instead of a step by step, detailed account of everything that happened for us to get the house (because everyone’s journey will be different), I’d like to outline the changes that occurred in our thought process to bring us to this wonderful place.
Before we did anything, we came to a common ground in what we believed about money. This was crucial. Since my husband and I are Christians, we both agreed that we would use the Bible and the money principles contained there to guide our financial decisions. This means that whatever the Bible said about business partnership, debt, co-signing for debt, relatives and money, labor and fair wages, charitable giving and even capital gains would be the basis of our financial decision making.
We changed our thinking about money in so many ways and did the following:
1) We realized that we weren’t entitled to anything- One of the reasons for our financial strain was that there was somewhat a sense of entitlement when it came to spending money. We felt we deserved a nice meal out, a luxury car or designer clothes. Just because we were nice people, didn’t entitle us to these things. Nice things are for people who have their finances in order. For a long time, that wasn’t us. Ouch.
2) Took a few steps back to go many steps forward- At one point in our marriage, we were literally on the verge of financially bleeding out. I got an office space for a business that I really could have run from home (along with the related credit card debt), high rent in a swanky suburb and a nice new shiny car note on a Lexus SUV. We also hired office movers to help with the relocation. Since we had recently begun using the Bible as our new life manual, it was time to make a tough decision- close up shop and go home to mama. It was hard to humble ourselves and step backwards in life to live with relatives. I am so glad we did it.
3) Had a plan for freed up money- While we were schmoozing off mom, we actually made a plan for the money that was released from our home and the office space lease. We decided to make a concerted, deliberate effort to pay off debt completely and quickly. We knew that having debt would impair our ability to save, invest and build wealth. For this reason, we decided not take for granted our special “no rent” situation and tackle our consumer debt head on.
4) Resolutely decided against debt for a home- I had a lot of time to listen to Dave Ramsey so I knew one of his favorite mantras was “I don’t borrow money for anything.” Those words, coupled with a verse in Romans 8:13 that admonished us to owe no one anything, continually echoed in my mind. I thought, if Dave could get through business and life without debt, so could we. So why not at least try. That’s exactly what we did.
After about a year and a half of diligently paying down debt and saving leftover money, it happened. We received a phone call and it was with the great news that a house was available to us with no debt! The year before, we were at a crossroads: tired of doing our part, but being so far away from the prospect of home ownership. We almost went back on our debt free resolution and started the mortgage pre-approval process! We were weary and wanted to make our home happen quicker than we thought it would take. Thankfully, our thoughts were invaded with the nagging feeling that this wasn’t the right way for us. In the middle of that process, my husband and I recommitted to our debt free plan and bailed out of the loan application process. Thank, God! If we had gone forward, we would not be in a position receive our debt free home.
There’s no magic, no miracles here. I don’t have a program to sell you or a pill you can take to get your own debt free home. Plainly put: this was a process of changing our minds and eventually behavior due to believing in the possibility of a debt free home.
Could you ever believe that you could get a home with no mortgage? Why or why not?
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I do. Not just a paid off home, but rental properties too! Such a wonderful testimony!
Thanks so much for sharing this story, Aja. What an inspiration!
Hubs and I had the mentality that everyone has a mortgage and it is just a given. We have since changed our thinking. We are Christians, too, and believe in using the money God has blessed us with by being the best stewards of it that we can. We put all of our extra income towards paying off our mortgage as soon as possible.
We cannot wait to be debt-free. It is very weary and trying, at times, but we know the results will be worth it. Thanks for sharing your encouraging story!
Hi Heather! I am glad that you were inspired. I believe that God honors this decision to be debt free according to Romans 8:13. We’ve been able to contribute to the kingdom so much more since we’ve become debt free and are so glad we made the choice to do this. My prayer is that you will finish this journey with the favor of God on you and your family.
I wish you would have outlined your journey. You talked about your decisions to pay off debt and better manage your money … And then all of a sudden you got a call which turned into a house that you got for free. I feel like there’s a crazy amount of information missing. I don’t understand where the phone call comes from … Or how to be added to that phone list. Congratulations on making it happen for your family though.
Hi Meg! Yes, the details are vague, and somewhat purposely because I don’t want people to miss the point that positioning yourself to receive a home debt free is the most important thing to make it happen. Not exactly how it happens. But the long and the short of it is that a relative of ours was left a house that they didn’t have a need for and they asked us to take it. However, I do want to stress that there were a number of things in place before this happened to make it possible: we had been paying down debt and saving money so we had the cash for extensive rehab. If debt was involved we couldn’t do it. We already resolved to do life without debt. We also stopped the process of buying a home with a mortgage only months before because, again, we were against using debt for anything. If we already had a house, it is likely we wouldn’t have been first on the list to get the call. In our case, we were incredibly blessed by a relative’s weird circumstance. However, I know people who’ve saved and purchased a home with no debt. Either way, the result starts with the same process: decide to rule out debt. Once you do that, the world of things you hope for will come to you, without debt!
First of all, let me say I think it is fantastic that you and your husband made a decision to live debt-free. It is ambitious and pretty amazing. However, I think this article is very misleading. Many people don’t have the option to just move home to mom and dad and live rent free- that in itself is a huge blessing to have that opportunity in your circumstances. And secondly, had you not been handed a house (whether it needed to be updated or not), you may have had to continue living at your parent’s house for many years as you saved up hundreds of thousands of dollars to be able to afford a decent house. Meanwhile, your lives would have been passing you by. Not being able to have children(unless of course, your parent’s house had enough room for them as well) or focus on anything other than saving up for a house. So, yes, I think it’s great that you and your husband are able to live debt-free and not have a mortgage, but that is not realistic for most people out there.
Best of luck and congratulations on the many blessings in your life.
Hi Amanda! Thanks for your comment. I totally agree with you! What I described here may not possible for everyone. But I think it is fair to say that we are all dealt a deck that contains certain privileges not available to others. For some it’s a beautiful singing voice, for others it’s the innate ability to create and innovate, then there are privileges like family upbringing, citizenship, culture and race. We all have some kind of edge that we can use to get ahead. It’s up to us to have a vision and use our advantages to get there. I hope this helps you and encourages you to find your “edge” and make it work for you.
I like this story and your further details in the comments. Setting your intention, doing your part, and asking God, the All-Seeing, All-Knowing to provide a way.
My husband and I also want to be able to buy a home without a loan in an area where rent is very high relative to housing. Especially as we get older, it would be good to have a place to retire rent-free.
This is an encouraging story to keep in mind God’s grace and that He is the true source of provision.
“‘Whoever fears God, He will create an avenue for him and give him sustenance from sources he does not even imagine.’